COVERSTAR pool cover

Automatic pool cleaners, vacuum heads, pool covers,
decks, fencing, pool alarms and security ....
Ray

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby Ray » Sun 18 Mar, 2012 13:57

You should go with SUNSHINE POOL COVERS.. They seem to be more reliable. Reasonable prices too.


sbacon

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby sbacon » Tue 24 Apr, 2012 03:03

Hi i have a Coverstar automatic pool cover... Less than 3 years (ie only used for effectively 12 months..) The hydraulic motor was repositioned (only slightly) for something else that was not working and the cover motor suddenly only started to open in one direction and then took 15 mins to close!!! It was taken off to be repaired.. and we have been told we need a NEW ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! £2500!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone out there had similar problems???

Are we been fobbed off???

Can the motor really stop working if its moved???

Please help i can not afford to buy a new !!

S bacon
Slmartin67

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby Slmartin67 » Thu 17 May, 2012 22:53

I have loved by Coverstar for the past 6 years. We did however have to make a repair of the metal pieces that the ropes run in. The installation was the problem. This year however our motor will only run one direction and the ropes get tied in knots. We can no longer cover the pool.

Any suggestions?

Does anyone have a rope that will work for salt water pool?
Guest

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby Guest » Wed 20 Jun, 2012 10:24

I have had nothing but problems with my cover: motor failing in first month, ropes breaking on average after 12 months. Ropes cost about £200 each and then you have the call out and labour charges on top of that. It has become such a headache that I have seriously considered pulling the whole system out and installing a more basic cover. After sales service from UK distributor is very poor. One of my worst ever purchases. AVOID
greginAnnapolis
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat 21 Jul, 2012 15:08
My Pool: 20' x 20' square pool
Location: Annapolis

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby greginAnnapolis » Sat 21 Jul, 2012 15:24

I had had the same awful experiences as most on this forum regarding Cover Star’s service and reliability of their products. I had new ropes installed less than two years ago… less than 3 years after the pool was in operation. Was told that the lines frayed due to calcium build-up by the pulley. $828.80. I think that this dealer goes by Cover Star East Coast (301.829.6000). Well… my lines just broke again… same place… and there’s no calcium or anything else that could rub against the lines. Just crappy quality lines and over-priced service calls. I will try calling them on Monday and will call HQ… I’ll let people know if their service has improved or may try to go with a local sailing guy for the repair.

UPDATE: 7/23/22
Cover Star East Coast replaced my lines with the "new and improved" lines and charged me labor ~$350. They were very speedy and I'm hoping that these lines last longer than the last sets. Overall I'm disappointed that the lines needed replacing, but am appreciative that they covered the material cost of the lines and came the same day that they got my voice msg.
MNPOOLGUY

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby MNPOOLGUY » Wed 08 Aug, 2012 09:47

I've owned a Coverstar since I installed the salt water pool Aug.2001. The pool is a 20x40L and is laid out East/West orientation and our backyard faces south. During the recent 100 degree days, we had problems keeping the pool water below 92 degrees (she's a hot one in the backyard).
Minnesota weather presents harsh challenges for any outdoor products and a vinyl pool cover is no exception so I've been expecting issues for the last 3-5 yrs. It finally happened, the rope broke last night when trying to close. I'm looking for replacement lines now as the quote for rope was 800.00 total, to replace the whole cover I was quoted 3558.00 installed. I'm considering replacing the rope with vinyl coated stainless steel cable. If I can figure out the attachment to employ to the rope (cover) this promises to be a long lasting repair with no issues concerning tensile strength or stretch. Cost is around $120.00 for 200 feet.

I have to express my satifaction with this product. This is really the first issue I've had. The cover is (of course) showing it's age with sun damage visible (side facing north looks fine) and thinning of cover where it meets the pool decking. Other than this the cover has performed as advertised and has exceeded it's lifespan by at least 3-5 yrs. The kids open and close the thing hourly it seems to me...lol.
I replaced an electrical box that allowed water in during heavy rains and that would trip my breaker (this was sparky being cheap/in a hurry). I have kept water levels up (or above) recommendations going into winter, and have always sumped water off cover after rains. I gently power wash yearly, other than that and every other year grease the mechanism it's been hands off.
MNPOOLGUY

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby MNPOOLGUY » Wed 08 Aug, 2012 10:35

I just posted and after reading more posts on the forum (some from Coverstar employees touting new ropes, 2yr breakage guaranties etc..)
I'm leaning towards the stainless steel cable w/vinyl coating I mentioned in previous post.

There is a product used in cabling/electrical industry called Kellum Grips which are used in to attach ropes to cables when pulling/installing heavy cables in buildings, towers etc. These grips tighten on the rope when pressure is applied, perfect for strain when opening the cover. They only need to be strong on the pull, when opening cover the cable only needs to trail through the line track as the cover is wound onto spool.

I'll update here when I've worked through issues and let folks know if succesful.

I do find it disconcerting that Coverstar is even using ropes (no matter grade/strength/etc) when to me the solution of steel cable is so apparent. Of course, if it lasts 20 yrs you don't get a lot of sales to replace, but my heaven, don't happy customers and product reliability count for anything these days. I'm pretty sure rodent damage would be greatly reduced as well.

Coverstar obviously needs to spend more time/money on R&D. The internet now provides consumers with much information on product reliability and satisfaction than ever before. People are becoming savy to B.S., poor design, materials, etc. and can find out about bad products before purchase.

I passed/bailed on purchasing a 2012 GMC Suburban when during research I ran across an issue GM labeled "Transmission Recovery". I brought it up to the sales guy who confirmed (after much prompting by myself I even brought up the forum posts on my smartphone and getting ready to leave the showroom) that his mechanics had seen it. Needless to say no 'Burb in my driveway.

When will these companies get hip???? Consumers are better armed than at any point in history.
Fed-up

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby Fed-up » Thu 16 Aug, 2012 22:07

We have a COVERPOOL Tarp as well. The ropes broke 3 months after a new install. $350.00 to repair.
Now the big one. Both sides of the COVERPOOL tarp came out of the track. We are in a rural area, and just to get someone here is $150.00. Please use caution with COVERPOOL products.
MNPOOLGUY

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby MNPOOLGUY » Thu 27 Sep, 2012 13:13

Well after some experimentation I repaired my rope for a total bill of roughly 35.00 dollars and 3 hours.

2 100' yards 3/8" nylon rope; $7.89 ea.
1 16' tow strap 4"nylon webbing; $12.99
80 yards of 85lb test fishing line; $8.00

I cut 2 6" pieces from the tow strap, sewed the rope onto them and sewed the rope/tow strap onto the front leading edge of the cover. Works great and when/if it breaks I'll do the same.
Guest

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby Guest » Fri 26 Oct, 2012 17:44

MNPOOLGUY wrote: I do find it disconcerting that Coverstar is even using ropes (no matter grade/strength/etc) when to me the solution of steel cable is so apparent. Of course, if it lasts 20 yrs you don't get a lot of sales to replace, but my heaven, don't happy customers and product reliability count for anything these days. I'm pretty sure rodent damage would be greatly reduced as well.

Coverstar obviously needs to spend more time/money on R&D.


Wire rope is an obvious solution that was overlooked for good reason. Since you're not an engineer, let me quickly state the many obstacles to pursuing a wire rope solution and if you're curious about the terms used, let wikipedia be your guide. Wire rope can't be used with the small diameter turn-around pulleys at the non-motor end of the track. Using staimless steel wire rope with extruded aluminum tracks would cause dissimilar metal corrosion. Using anything other than aluminum wire rope would cause dissimilar metal corrosion. Using vinyl coated wire rope would only delay the corrosion for the very brief life of unreinforced unpigmented vinyl without a barrier layer in sunlight and chlorine. Using aluminum wire rope would be less satisfying than the high strength low stretch polymer fiber rope. Tracks can be made from stainless steel as a 2 part rolled/machined bolt-together at 15x -20x the cost per foot of extruded aluminum.

If you want to tantalize yourself with the ne plus ultra solution, try stainless tracks with a worm srcew drive (rather like the Genie garage door opener). Use microprocessor controlled stepper motors for the worm drives and a geared down one for the roller tube each with shaft encoders to keep everything perfectly synchronized, monitor the loads, etc. Ruggedize and weatherproof att the electronics. Now write instructions so simple pool people can install it. And last ... find dealers and customers willing to pay for a mechanism that cost over $7,000 at the factory loading dock. (over $14,000 retail before installation)

AFAIK if those ropes are stretching quickly, then they are over-loaded when the cover is being extended over the pool. If the automatic stops aren't working correctly and cutting power far enough before the mechanical stop then mechanical momentum in the gear reduction drive may be running the cover into the mechanical stops and stretching the ropes. (if auto-stop isn't working or isn't installed, then the operator isn't stopping the drive soon enough.) If auto stop is good, then the mechanism may have too much braking on the roll up tube, or something in the rope path is damaged, the pulleys, track lead-in guides, etc.

One simple solution to help avoid damaging the mechanism is to install a thermal circuit breaker just a bit above the normal running current for the cover. If the clamp on ammeter says it runs at 3 amps, then a 4 amp breaker, etc. If it trys to draw more than the usual amout of power, because theres a larger mechanical load on the motor, the breaker trips. Do not use a self-resetting motor overload or the cover may move unexpectedly while you're trying to figure out why it stopped.

BTW - the covers that only open one way without tangling the ropes ... either the roller tube braking is too light, or the main steel shaft with the dual dog shift is sticking. (bad alignment, no grease, corrosion). Some mechanisms are in a pool end box that is routinely flooded. Even if the motor is flood-proof, lubricants aren't and it has dissimilar metals corrosion problems. (Aluminum roper reels and cover roller, steet motor shaft and shift mechanism.)
soma123
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu 08 Nov, 2012 09:19
Location: 808 Belvedere Dr. Conroe, TX 77301

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby soma123 » Sun 11 Nov, 2012 04:17

Hey! i can say that for solving your problem you can contact with Freedom Pool .Any type of problem related with pool, you can can solve it there. :lol:
magnolia pool service
Spring swimming pool cleaner
The Woodlands swimming pool cleaner
dzlv
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue 21 May, 2013 10:48
My Pool: 20X35, Coverstar Automatic Poo Cover
Location: Henderson, NV

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby dzlv » Tue 21 May, 2013 10:56

Pool Cover Services/UTAH wrote:hello everyone, My Business is Pool Cover Services/UTAH. I have been installing and servicing automatic pool covers for over 15 years, I have worked on every kind of pool cover out there. There is an answer to your problems. If your fortunate to live in Utah I can replace ropes on any cover for $65.00 per rope plus 1-2 hours labor. I would never buy from Coverstar. If you are outside of Utah, call Pool Specialists in Indiana, THey have very qualified techs. Rgardless of where you live Pool SPecialists will send you replacement rope kits that can easily be installed, the rope has been tested and I know first hand IT WORKS and will last for the life of the cover!!!
Anyone on this forum is welcome to call me anytime for information or contact numbers for help in getting your pool cover serviced! Bryan


Bryan email me if you can help or know someine in the Las Vegas area. Dzhordzhalyan@hotmail.com
no diving

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby no diving » Mon 12 Aug, 2013 21:20

We just had one of the nylon webbing straps break. Luckily, ropes are intact, but the track sliders are very worn, and when the strap broke, the cover torqued severely... which ruined the sliders. I unwound the tangled rope on the bad side, re-wound it on the spool, and re-threaded the rope into the track over the weekend; I machined new sliders out of UHMW plastic today, now just need to find a 3" wide piece of webbing, sew that on to rope and install my new sliders. But how do I re-adjust the ropes? Right now with the cover closed, the loose rope is about 10 - 12" too long. Did I miss one wrap around the spool? Or can I open the cover, pulling the loose rope as it goes (to unspool it), and re-adjust it then?
Kevinb

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby Kevinb » Sun 01 Sep, 2013 21:44

I live in Michigan and have had my Coverstar for about 8 years. It has taken quite a beating with all the ice and snow in the winter. There is a small tear in it now that I mean to patch. I have had to have the rope replaced about 4 years ago when it broke. Now I am trying to order a Torque Limiter and Housing Assembly. The torque limiter is worn out and the 4 screws in the assembly sheared off. Probably because it has been closing very rough ( locking and catching) for the past 2 years. I think that if I have many more problems, I will just keep it open and have a mesh winter cover installed to keep the leaves out. Then I won't have to pump it off all winter. I really like the Coverstar but like anything else it is a complicated system. When it closes rough, things tend to break.
broth28
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon 30 Aug, 2010 18:34
Location: Sunman

COVERSTAR pool cover

Postby broth28 » Mon 30 Sep, 2013 11:44

Anyone have any recommendations for anyone in Indiana to fix these? UGGHHH... Had a rope break for the second time in 3 years...

CoverguyIndy (on this forum) came out 3 years ago and did an excellent job at an excellent price. Unfortunately his phone # and email contact information is no longer working.

Thanks!

Return to “Pool Equipment & Other Pool Maintenance”

Who is online at the Pool Help Forum

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests